Officer Shot, Friend Killed in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA – An off-duty Philadelphia police officer was in serious condition and a friend was dead after the two were shot during a robbery attempt in the city’s Hunting Park neighborhood last night.

Police later shot a man who matched the description of one of the assailants and arrested a man with him.

The officer, Martin P. Campbell, was hit in his left leg and taken to Temple University Hospital in critical condition after the bullet “nicked” an artery, according to Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman. By the end of the night, he was upgraded and stabilized at the hospital, where Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey were “hopeful” that the 23-year-old officer would fully recover. He was still in surgery shortly before midnight.

Police said two men had tried to rob Campbell and Allen – two longtime friends – and a third friend around 7:15 p.m., leading to the shooting.

Roughly three hours later, police responded to a call about two men fitting the assailants’ descriptions in the 1100 block of West Venango Street, a few blocks from the Temple hospital. After police stopped the men, one pulled a gun, and an officer shot and wounded him, Vanore said.

The man was taken to Temple with a gunshot wound to the groin, and there was no word on his condition last night. The second man was arrested.

Police had not determined last night if the men were the suspects in the shooting of Campbell and his friend.

A police chopper swept a spotlight over West Venango Street late last night as police searched the area.

One relative said Rasheen Allen was about 29. His family said Allen and Campbell were childhood friends who both grew up on the Marshall Street block.

Allen had a son about 6 years old, relatives said, and was on disability from a job at SEPTA due to a blood-clotting condition.

Campbell is single and has no children. His mother and father were at the hospital last night. He has been with the police force for two years and serves in the Fifth District, which includes Manayunk and Roxborough.